Sinking an M561 Gama Goat at Camp Pendleton, CA

[SgtMajHarper]

 

[wheelspinner]

Oops

 

[Mullaney]

.
Seems to me that they overlooked their flotation cushions.
Maybe they didn't have anybody standing at the front of the vehicle to give the safety briefing...

 

[BKubu]

I don't know much (anything) about the Gama Goats. Do they have plugs that go into the hull/body before swimming them? I know the M548s/M1015s have such plugs. You are in for a bad day if you forget to put those plugs in and try to swim the vehicle.

 

[SgtMajHarper]

I don't know much (anything) about the Gama Goats. Do they have plugs that go into the hull/body before swimming them? I know the M548s/M1015s have such plugs. You are in for a bad day if you forget to put those plugs in and try to swim the vehicle.

YES !!! There are 3 plugs in the hull and the tractor also has a bilge pump. There are numerous detailed instructions of do's and don'ts and how-to's and limitations before going into the water. The one that says to not use your seat belt, remove the top and to inflate your personal flotation device before entering the water kind of reminds me of "hold my beer".

 

[simp5782]

The bilge pump will be overwhelmed by the wake from A boat that is over a mile away. It doesn't take much to sink one.

 

[BKubu]

Different vehicles, but you were not even supposed to swim the m548a1/m1015a1 as the rear bilge pump was omitted. The guy I bought my M548a1 from DID swim it for a brief time (he sent me a video). It worked because the one bilge pump was able to keep up.

 

[SCSG-G4]

With the G-G's, a ripple is enough to sink it. I've seen modifications to the front on both sides to raise the freeboard about eight inches using 2 x 10's cut to fit. Harder to get in and out with a top on, but MUCH safer in the water.

 

[Mullaney]

With the G-G's, a ripple is enough to sink it. I've seen modifications to the front on both sides to raise the freeboard about eight inches using 2 x 10's cut to fit. Harder to get in and out with a top on, but MUCH safer in the water.

.
With one bilge pump, and it easily being overrun - would it be smart to add a second much bigger higher volume pump?
Anything is possible. Right? I just don't know how fast it might sink if it gets a "water slosh" so a second pump might not matter.

 

[simp5782]

Best to keep them on dry land and flat land at that as they roll on their side easily too.

 

[patracy]

"Amphibious"

 

[m715mike]

Forget the Goat…. I want a LARC!!!

 

[silverstate55]

That looks like the Amtrac (AAV) area on the south end of Pendleton, near Oceanside.

I’ll bet those two got in more trouble for not policing up their gear left floating in the water than the sinking of the GG...I wonder if the orange-ish colored item floating in the water was the Fording Operations TM.

Ah, the good old days of the Big Green Weenie....

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Submersible?

I thought the captain was supposed to "go down with the ship".... Bet he later thought he should have.

 

[simp5782]

Submersible?

I thought the captain was supposed to "go down with the ship".... Bet he later thought he should have.

I thought Sh&^ floated but apparently it doesn't apply to the goat

 

[BEASTMASTER]

reminds me of the time my buddie took his goat for a swim in a lake. we hooked the deuce winch cable to him just in case it went down . he went out about 100 ft and turned around and came back. he was sweating it though.

 

[Mullaney]

Forget the Goat…. I want a LARC!!!

.
When I first read that - I was thinking Ark - and wondering if they marched on two by two :

 

[SCSG-G4]

reminds me of the time my buddie took his goat for a swim in a lake. we hooked the deuce winch cable to him just in case it went down . he went out about 100 ft and turned around and came back. he was sweating it though.

The G-G's were made in a plant near Charlotte, NC, and the acceptance test was to drive them into Lake Norman, go out about 100 yards then return. Every one had 500 feet of rope attached to the vehicle and anchored ashore. I've been told the failure rate was close to 25 percent on the first try. They would use the rope to pull the failures out, fix them and try again. The lack of freeboard in the sides of the driving compartment was the culprit every time.

 

[m715mike]

Could you imagine buying a vehicle advertised as, “Brand new, only sank once during testing.”

 

[Mullaney]

The G-G's were made in a plant near Charlotte, NC, and the acceptance test was to drive them into Lake Norman, go out about 100 yards then return. Every one had 500 feet of rope attached to the vehicle and anchored ashore. I've been told the failure rate was close to 25 percent on the first try. They would use the rope to pull the failures out, fix them and try again. The lack of freeboard in the sides of the driving compartment was the culprit every time.

.
THAT would be a job I could enjoy. You would need to bring spare clothes to change in to.
After the first sinking of the day - how much worse could it get?
Especially if one in four were going to sink you could eventually come to work prepared.

I can see me eventually making a minor (unauthorized) modification after the first few sinkings.
The addition a couple of high volume sump pumps thrown in the driver's compartment might allow you drive it back to the ramp - above the water